Death toll from coronavirus rebounds in Finland just when the authorities insist that the situation is under control.
It had been a week that the country did not report a number of fatalities greater than 5. Last time that happened was on Wednesday 6 May, when health authorities reported six deaths.
But the number of deaths increased again this Wednesday 13 May. The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL, in its Finnish acronym) reported 9 additional fatalities caused by Covid-19 disease.
All new deaths occurred in Helsinki hospital region.
We must go back to Monday 4 May, when the country registered 10 deaths, to find a similar number of fatalities.
Schools to reopen
This rebound raises the total number of deceased to 284. And it does so one day before one of the measures most criticized by citizens in the de-escalation process comes into effect: the reopening of schools, which will take place on Thursday 14 may.
On Wednesday 13 May, THL also reported 51 more coronavirus infections. With them, the total number of laboratory-diagnosed cases rose to 6,054.
However, health authorities admit the actual number of cases may be much higher, since people with mild symptoms are not generally tested.
Source: THL
All new deaths in Helsinki
All the new deaths reported on Wednesday happened in the Helsinki University hospital special catchment area (HYKS). So far, this area reported 232 fatalities (81.6% of the country's total).
This means eight out of every ten deaths caused by coronavirus have occurred in the Helsinki hospital region.
Helsinki-Uusimaa is also the region with the highest incidence of infections: there are already 255.9 diagnosed cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This rate grows everyday.
For the whole country, the average incidence rate is less than half that in Helsinki: 109 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to THL.
The region of Helsinki-Uusimaa also remains the epicenter and worst-hit area. According to official figures, to date, 4,314 cases of Covid-19 have been found in the capital metropolitan area. Of them, 2,234 have been diagnosed in the city of Helsinki.
In intensive care units
On Wednesday, the official number of patients hospitalized due to coronavirus nationwide was 157. And the number of people in intensive care units was 35.
According to a preliminary estimate by THL, there are at least 4,300 people who may have already recovered from the disease.
To date, Finnish laboratories have taken samples from approximately 133,200 people.
